Carp: The facts

[OnTheFly]

I deeply urge everyone to spend the time to read this. Once you understand what this fish is all about, then maybe the guys with the knowledge on how to catch them will do a write up for those interested.
Common carp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[beaverfan]

duh duh duh the truth comes out!

 

[chrisohm]

We could make millions for the state by catching them and exporting them to China. We could always use a few more exports! I'm sure Andrew Zimmerman would take some for his freezer..

 

[Airs98]

Allright, this could be just an urban legend, but I have heard that the carp is the most intelligent fish!

All over Europe they are pursued by an army of anglers with the most technologically advanced rods, reels and what have you the money can buy, so this fish evolved into a highly adaptable and smart species that avoid getting caught.

In North America they are lazy and unmotivated cause nobody is after them, and look at them now...

 

[bigdog]

At this rate we are going to have to see about getting the forum name changed to oregoncarpfishingforum.

 

[mlw]

check out Carp on the Fly - I have been meaning to get around to trying this, a huge carp on a fly rod has got to be fun. I don't know John, he posts sometimes on Westfly.
Michael

 

[beaverfan]

In the book I mentioned above it does indeed tell that carp are the smartest fish that swims and the book explains the testing done to determine that apparent fact.

Most folks think common carp (yellow/orange) eat only algae but that is not the whole truth. A common carp's (not grass carp, White Amur) first preference for food is the same nymphs, crustaceans, and small bait fish that all native fish feed on. But, when preferred food sources are not available common carp can survive on a wide variety of foods including, fruits and berries, as well as algae. Carp have been observed eating blackberries falling into the water from overhanging bushes. Common carp are true omnivores.

If USA anglers could ever get past the learned, traditional prejudice about carp they would find a tremendous fishing resource right under their noses nation wide! :lol:

They also are incredibly destructive and compete with the native fish.

It's not a question if people would enjoy fishing for them, it's a question of what are they doing to ecosystems they are living in here in the U.S. Who the hell cares if they're fun to catch! They are destroying our waterways!

 

[fishnquest]

Help me obewan, Jim has crossed over to the dark side.

 

[beaverfan]

Help me obewan, Jim has crossed over to the dark side.

No the link he posted talks about there destruction, he is in NO way promoting carp!

 

[chrisohm]

Help me obewan, Jim has crossed over to the dark side.

Betty White could help with that!

 

[OnTheFly]

Help me obewan, Jim has crossed over to the dark side.

Fear not young Jedi. I simply set the stage for the carp guys to contribute their knowledge to catch these most misunderstood fish. We are now on page 2 and so far not one post has been made regarding rigging and/or catch methods. Just the same 'ol dialogue. Perhaps the force is not with them.

 

[john montana]

I don't disagree, in fact I totally agree with you. If I had my way every last multi-million of them would be eliminated from all America's waterways. But the fact is the fish are here and they "ain't" going away so why not look at them as a fishing resource? You can be angry about them or you can utilize them to bend your rod and pull your drag!

Well said sink line. Carp are nearly as dangerous to our native fisheries as smallmouth bass. I would get rid of em all (bass, carp,walleye...the list goes on) if it was practical and would lead to a renewed native fishery. As it stands, our best bet is to hopefully control all the non native species and avoid overpopulation. The carp and bass (etc) are not getting cleared out of the Columbia system, unfortunately.

As for methods, I can't speak to bait or gear fishing, I have zero experience with bait and carp but I would be happy to give some general tips about fly fishing for carp. I have spent the last five years learning how to catch these fish, and truthfully, it isn't easy. They feed primarily by scent and have poor eyesight so getting them to eat an artificial flacon be extremely tough. Basic method is to stalk the shallow water and look for a feeding carp. Then cast the fly so it sinks about 8-16 inches from the fish. The tough part is detecting the strike. Carp can suck in a fly without moving from about a foot away, and will eject a fly incredibly fast. It helps if you can actually see the fish eat the fly, but more often than not you simply have to key on the body posture changes of the fish.

They are a blast to catch. With a flyrod it is very much like bone fishing, and they are one of the bigger freshwater fish you can catch out here on a fly rod. This year I landed about 12-15 carp over 20 lbs, with my personal best (caught last year) at 31 lbs. I have only been doing this for a few years now and I am far from an expert, but if I can help someone get started I would be happy to.

 

[john montana]

When John was first learning carp flyfishing he emailed me numerous times asking for advice on waters that might be suitable for flyfishing large carp. Now, several years later he is probably the most knowledgeable guy in Oregon on flyfishing for carp.

I thought those pictures looked familiar sinkline! Still haven't made it out to the snake, but I will get there one day!

The guy that knows the most about flyrod carping in Oregon is Andy "ap" emerger. On the gear side sniper, drew and top bloke definitely know their stuff. I am just here for comic relief.

 

[ChezJfrey]

I am certainly no expert, but I learned a few things in the last few days, so I can offer what I found so far.

Carp are wily. As mentioned, they will inspect and exhale bait offering very quickly, so they are extremely difficult to catch with a simple bait-on-hook scenario as an angler will very likely not be able to react quickly enough at the first nibble to set a hook. Also, they are sensitive and suspicious to any line tension as they pick up the bait and will reject it at that point. And once the bait is rejected, it will apparently not be revisited by the same fish.

As a result, the aforementioned hair rig is the setup of choice (google.com is your friend here) as the bait is threaded onto a line extended away form the hook and it allows the fish to inspect the bait, sans hook; leaving the bail open on a spin reel negates any feeling of line tension. Then, the fish will begin to devour the bait and the hook will follow. Once the hook is encountered, the fish was already commited and the hook will more likely catch before it can be ejected. At the point the fish feels the hook prick, it will likely spook a bit and move away. You will then see your line start to spool out.

Some people use what's called a bolt rig that has a heavier weight (like 2-3 oz.) with a stop that will partially set the hook when the fish 'bolts'. I opted to just grab the line with my hand for a brief second and let go (very briefly so as not to inadvertently break my light tackle...this happened once when I held on too long). I also went to a size 1 hook, from a larger one because I was just getting a bunch of stolen bait and no hookups with a larger size...the smaller size got me much better success with actually getting a hook to reach the mouth and stay in. Yesterday, I hooked 5 in this manner, but what I later determined to be a too-high drag setting caused me to lose some. When I lightened my drag up, I finally netted a 30" carp.

For bait, I rolled some wheat bread into balls with a mixture of ground nuts and blackberry syrup (the kind used for lattes). I added a few bits of corn after threading on the bread ball; the carp really seemed to like it.

 

[bigfootfish]

Hmmm. Carp being considered trash fish by the ODFW they allow harvesting of said critters by spear, gaff, bow & arrow, etc. Dynamite would be fun but somewhat non-selective in targeting carp. They are excellant fighters if you hook them with pole and line. But if they are destructive and harming our true native fish then...........

BFF

 

[john montana]

I have no problem with fearing carp as an invasive species that does damage to our native ecosystem, but you can't pick and choose when discussing non native species. Smallmouth bass are as dangerous (they prey on smolt, something carp don't do at all) to our native fisheries. If you could take our rivers back in time and only have native species, i'd do it in a second. the fisheries would all be healthier without carp, bass, walleye, catfish, brown trout, bluegill, shad, and the list goes on. At some point, i think some of these fish need to be considered native, but i am far from the kind of expert who could make that distinction. I take the approach than when feasible...remove all non natives and promote our historic native fisheries. It just ain't happening in the big C. you might as well enjoy the bass and carp fishing there since we have no chance of removing those species from the columbia.

 

[troutdude]

For example, did you know the average adult carp has 2-million eggs per spawn?

Uh...you didn't read very far in that link from Wikipedia. Here is what it actually said about spawing:

An egg-layer, a typical adult fish can lay 300,000 eggs in a single spawning.[14] Although carp typically spawn in the spring, in response to rising water temperatures and rain fall, carp can spawn multiple times in a season.

Well okay. This is an open forum. So, here is an earful for your consideration.

At any rate, they are nothing more than an INVASIVE specie. For example, the bastards completely choked out and overtook; my favorite stretch of bass fishing water on the Long Tom River. I used to catch buckets full of smallie's and bucketmouths. But, now all there are in the whole dam stretch (about 2 miles long), is nothing but those frickin carp. I HATE them. I want them ERADICATED from our game waters!!!

If the frickin things would NOT take over territory like they do, I would have no problem with them at all. But, I repeat...they are INVASIVE (and I might add, NON native to most parts of the world). I don't give a dam if they taste good or not. And it's all because some idiots transplanted them in our part of the world. And they thought it was a GOOD idea??? MORONS all!

Incidentally, carp are among the easiest fish to catch. All you need is a worm. Or, now on my former classic bass water...a floating rapala, a Lucky 13, or a frog popper. They'll hit ANYTHING. So, I am sorry, but you can't convince me that they are a "challenging" target. I have caught hundreds of the dam things. And they have all been left on the bank.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. My respects to anyone who likes carp. I'm not picking on you personally. I am only expressing my feelings about the fish; and the pinheads who brought this blight to our corner of the globe.

But, I guess that I don't really have an opinion to state. LOL

 

[rickman]

They also are incredibly destructive and compete with the native fish.

It's not a question if people would enjoy fishing for them, it's a question of what are they doing to ecosystems they are living in here in the U.S. Who the hell cares if they're fun to catch! They are destroying our waterways!

Good reason for everyone to fish for carp. Get em' out of the waters. Just throw them on the bank. I'm sure there's some animals that would appreciate it.

 

[GDBrown]

...A common carp's........first preference for food is the same nymphs, crustaceans, and small bait fish that all native fish feed on.....

This is why most of us would rather the carp not be in our NATIVE waters.

GD

 

[ChezJfrey]

At any rate, they are nothing more than an INVASIVE specie. For example, the bastards completely choked out and overtook; my favorite stretch of bass fishing water on the Long Tom River. I used to catch buckets full of smallie's and bucketmouths. But, now all there are in the whole dam stretch (about 2 miles long), is nothing but those frickin carp. I HATE them. I want them ERADICATED from our game waters!!!

If the frickin things would NOT take over territory like they do, I would have no problem with them at all. But, I repeat...they are INVASIVE (and I might add, NON native to most parts of the world). I don't give a dam if they taste good or not. And it's all because some idiots transplanted them in our part of the world. And they thought it was a GOOD idea??? MORONS all!

Incidentally, carp are among the easiest fish to catch. All you need is a worm. Or, now on my former classic bass water...a floating rapala, a Lucky 13, or a frog popper. They'll hit ANYTHING. So, I am sorry, but you can't convince me that they are a "challenging" target. I have caught hundreds of the dam things. And they have all been left on the bank.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. My respects to anyone who likes carp. I'm not picking on you personally. I am only expressing my feelings about the fish; and the pinheads who brought this blight to our corner of the globe.

But, I guess that I don't really have an opinion to state. LOL

Ah, the precious bass (BTW, I like fishing for bass)...but also an invasive species: From Invasive species are greatest threat to Northwest salmon, report says | OregonLive.com

"This report argues the greatest threat to fish [salmon] are non-native species like crappie or bass that can eat up juvenile salmon as the make their way downstream from their birthplace to the ocean. "

As far as carp hitting anything, I can't get 'em to hit those things (worms, Rapalas, etc.) because those other invasives get there first (e.g. bass, bluegill, catfish)!